an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
"The new clerk spent all morning organizing the financial records in the back office."
a salesperson in a store
"I stopped by the pharmacy to ask the clerk if they had my prescription ready yet."
One who occupationally works with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
"The new clerk spent his morning organizing the stack of invoices and updating the company ledger."
In plain English: A clerk is someone who does office work like filing papers and handling money for a business.
"The clerk asked me to sign for the package at the front desk."
Usage: A clerk is an office worker whose primary duties involve managing records, handling financial accounts, or processing correspondence. Use this term to describe someone performing these administrative tasks in a business or institutional setting rather than referring to them by their specific job title like cashier or teller.
work as a clerk, as in the legal business
"After graduating law school, he decided to work as a clerk for the state supreme court to gain practical experience."
To act as a clerk, to perform the duties or functions of a clerk
"After graduating from college, she decided to clerk at a law firm for two years before starting her own practice."
In plain English: To clerk means to work as an office employee who handles paperwork and answers phones for a business.
"The bank clerked the transaction before handing the customer his receipt."
Usage: Do not use "clerk" as a verb in modern English; it is an archaic term that has been replaced by "work as," "serve as," or specific role descriptions like "process transactions." Using "to clerk" sounds outdated and unnatural in everyday conversation.
A surname.
"My new neighbor, Mr. Clerk, waved at me as he walked his dog."
The word clerk comes from the Old English clerc, which was borrowed from Late Latin for a priest or learned man. Its ultimate origin traces back to an Ancient Greek term meaning "lot" or "inheritance," referring to the practice of assigning church duties by drawing lots.